Norwood hosts delegation of senior officials from the Israeli Government on social care fact-finding mission to Europe | Norwood's NewsNorwood hosts delegation of senior officials from the Israeli Government on social care fact-finding mission to Europe – Norwood's News

Norwood hosts delegation of senior officials from the Israeli Government on social care fact-finding mission to Europe

A delegation of senior Israeli government professionals visited Jewish charity Norwood today as part of a study tour to Europe to discuss new models of social care and welfare funding in Israel. The political fact-finding mission is led by Professor Jack Habib, Director, Myers JDC-Brookdale Institute, Israel’s leading centre for applied research on social policy and social services.

Key decision-makers from the Israeli Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Finance, as well as people from The Myers JDC-Brookdale Institute itself, spoke to Norwood CEO Elaine Kerr and Chairman David Ereira about the charity’s payment models for social care and their implications for Israeli government policy. They also discussed the relative challenges both parties face in continuing to provide the best social care and support for people who need it most amid financial restraints.

On his decision to visit Norwood, Professor Jack Habib said: “Israel is working very hard to improve its social services; how they’re delivered, their effectiveness, their efficiency and so forth. We’re here to learn from your experience. We’ve visited other organisations here and in Ireland, but we’re particularly excited about our visit to Norwood. We recognise that it’s one of the country’s leading social service organisations, so your whole approach to integrated services and people-centred services is of great interest to us. We have senior members of the government in our group who are very much involved in commissioning social services, so we’re interested in the interaction between the NGOs that provide the services and the government. We’re looking to learn how to best shape those relationships and Norwood gives us a great local perspective on that.”

Norwood CEO Elaine Kerr added: “It has been an absolute pleasure to spend time with the delegation and share with them the detail, positives, negatives and challenges of social care, welfare funding and contractual arrangements in England. We learned a great deal too and I hope the visit proves to be of benefit to Israel. We share common issues around the affordability and management of social welfare funding, but we also share the wish to provide the best support and care possible for our communities.”